Quqnoos, August 4, 2008

Sex attacks on Afghan children continue to rise, rights group says

A two and a half-year-old girl was recently raped in the northern province of Jowzjan

by Tamim Hamid

AN AFGHAN human rights organisation has said the increase in the number of child rapes may drag the country into anarchy.

Child rapes have risen sharply in recent years, according to Afghanistan’s Human Rights Organisation (AHRO), which claims most of the sexual assaults are carried out by government officials and other powerful men.

12-year-old Anisa was gang-raped by five armed men in Sarpul province. Her parants say the whole family will commit mass suicide, if justice is not done.

A two and a half-year-old girl was recently raped in the northern province of Jowzjan. The child is thought to be in a critical condition in hospital.

In the last month, five children have been raped in the country, the AHRO said.

Head of the organisation, Lal Gul, said: "The situation is getting more critical every day. The government must not be quiet and must do its best to stop this problem. Law must be enforced equally on everyone."

Most rapes in Afghanistan go unrecorded because families fail to report them under pressure from criminals, AHRO said.

The Interior Ministry recently arrested and then fired five security officials in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul for failing to properly investigate the rape of a 12-year-old girl.

Badakhshan MP Sadullah Abo Aman said: "Such crimes have increased so much that even children are raped. There is no pity, nor any sense. These incidents show that the government is very weak."

Abdul Hameed Aimaq, a senator from Kunduz, said: "The courts take bribes, the attorney offices take bribes, and there is no one to ask about all this. For this reason, there are killings, rapes, thefts, and everything else. There is no government in reality."

The Interior Ministry refused to comment on the rape of the two and a half-year-old girl in Jowzjan.

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